Ripa 'Moramee
Ripa 'Moramee was a Sangheili warrior who served as the Arbiter during the middle of the Human-Covenant War and the main antagonist of the video game Halo Wars. History Early career Ripa 'Moramee's first known military activity was the suppression of the Sixteenth Unggoy Disobedience and ending the heretical reign of a Kig-Yar Pirate Prince. He subsequently attempted a coup within his clan on Decided Heart, but this failed, and he was imprisoned in the Weeping Shadows of Sorrow penitentiary, for both his insubordination and failure. 'Moramee would have died in the prison had it not been for the intervention of the Hierarchs - specifically the Prophet of Regret - who appointed him as the Arbiter, and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity and uncovering Forerunner artifacts. It was a decision that led to concerned mumblings amongst the Prophets' Honour Guards, who had no prior knowledge of this plan. He was not selected just for his combat record alone; the Covenant commanders believed that he, as the new Arbiter, would not ask politically inconvenient questions (an important factor given the secret status of humanity as Forerunner-designated Reclaimers). The creation of a new Arbiter caused a split in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Sangheili, who were opposed to the new Prophets, seized control of several Forerunner relics, including one that supposedly contained a "key" of some sort. The Arbiter was sent by the Hierarchs to end this rebellion, resulting in a vicious battle that raged for days which ended with the destruction of many heretics. The mysterious key, however, was never found. Harvest Campaign 'Moramee was later present at the Harvest Campaign in 2531. The UNSC was aware of his presence but was unable to gather more than cursory intelligence on him.Ripa 'Moramee oversaw the excavation of a Forerunner site in the planet's northern polar region. The installation's entrance was uncovered by Field Master Re'gish Wamik, and the area was quickly investigated by Covenant forces. Despite concerns by Field Master Wamik that the humans would "defile" the installation, 'Moramee pressed on due to the impatience and pressure of the Hierarchs. With the UNSC closing in, the Prophet of Regret ordered him to destroy the installation and return to the Covenant with the information he had gathered. Ripa 'Moramee was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied nonetheless upon the persistant insistence of the Prophet. The attempt to destroy the relic failed when the demolition teams were thwarted by UNSC ground forces deployed from the orbiting Spirit of Fire. The Shield World The information from the Forerunner structure on Harvest led the Covenant to Arcadia, where a collection of Forerunner ruins was discovered. These ruins, in turn, revealed the location of a Forerunner Shield World, which 'Moramee and the Prophet of Regret immediately traveled to. Ripa 'Moramee was involved in a Covenant attempt to activate a dormant fleet of Forerunner ships from the Shield World. However, 'Moramee was concerned about why he was not fulfilling his task of destroying humanity, when he should command all their forces for a frontal assault; Regret stated that they need the Forerunner ships to increase the size of their fleets, so that the Covenant won't have to dedicate all their forces for the war effort and thus leave themselves defenseless. After Covenant attempts to interface with the Forerunner technology failed, 'Moramee was sent on a mission to capture Ellen Anders after the First Battle of Arcadia by the Prophet of Regret, as it was believed she would have information and knowledge of how to interface with Forerunner structures that the Covenant did not. The Arbiter successfully captured her despite Sergeant John Forge's intervention and escaped in a Spirit to an awaiting ship. The UNSC Spirit of Fire pursued them through Slipspace, deeming Anders's capture to be a "significant security breach." 'Moramee reached the Shield World first, brought Anders to the the Apex site, and forced her to interface with the Forerunner controls and begin activating the Forerunner fleet. Soon afterward the UNSC Spirit of Fire arrived on station over the artificial planet surface and began to organize a rescue mission. Final fight with Sgt. John Forge Anders escaped from 'Moramee via the Apex's teleportation system and alerted the UNSC of the Covenant's endgame. Sergeant John Forge and Spartan Red Team were mobilised to the Apex, given orders to destroy the Shield World with the Spirit of Fire's disassembled FTL Reactor by overheating its core, thus causing the Shield World's internal sun to go supernova. However, Moramee was dispatched with a contingent of Sangheili Honour Guards to stop the humans. The trio of Spartans defeated the enemy squad in combat with no casualties while Forge engaged Moramee, who had taken advantage of his active camouflage to ambush and kill the Marine lieutenant responsible for opening the Apex's entrance. Initially, Forge disarmed his enemy despite the physical disparity between both, relying on combat skills rather than physique. 'Moramee then fought off Forge and started mocking him while delivering rather superficial injuries. Forge decided to feign defeat and requested that his foe 'look him in the eye' before killing him. The Arbiter granted his wish and raised the sergeant by grabbing his neck but was unwary that his own throat was within striking range. Forge suddenly grabbed his combat knife 'Lucy' and drove it into Moramee's throat. He then used the Covenant's Energy Sword to impale his torso. The Sangheili's body was disposed of by Red Team's Spartan 130 (Alice) a short while before the FTL Reactor went ballistic and destroyed the Shield World. Personality and characteristics Moramee was an extremely brutal and ruthless commander on the battlefield. Although he was a Sangheili, he demonstrated a blatant disregard for traditional values of the race (such as honour) and arrogantly underestimated his foes against the advice of subordinates. Tall and muscular verses most Sangheili, he proved himself to be fanatically loyal to the Hierachs, especially the Prophet of Regret, and carried out his task to annihilate humanity with fervent zeal and efficiency to secure his place in the Great Journey. His fearsome reputation was known to all in the Covenant, including Atriox. Unusually violent and quick to anger, Moramee contemplated how easy it would be to kill 'the noisemaker' prior to his service as the Arbiter, during Regret's visit to Ripa in prison. During the Harvest conflict, Re'gish Wamik questioned his orders to open the Forefunner relic, to which he verbally lashed out, 'I care not for your little life!' During a visit to the Apex, Regret considered the problem of opening the Apex and Ripa replied he would 'take what we have' with regard to the Covenant Fleet. In addition, he made the significantly foolish decision to ignite his Energy Swords in the presence of the Prophet of Regret - which startled the Honour Guards who were the Prophet's security force. This is an uncharacteristic defiance of both Covenant laws (activating a weapon in a Hierarch's presence) and traditional Sangheili customs (a drawn weapon is said to 'demand blood' before it can be sheathed) - but it is possible he wanted the blood of humanity. His rank of Arbiter kept the Honour Guards present from attempting to kill him on the spot. While at the Apex and interrogating Ellen Anders, he struck a Zealot, throwing him to the ground and supposedly rendering him unconscious, when told the Spirit of Fire had followed the Covenant to the Shield World. This is a second example of unacceptable actions, since the individual who was knocked down had not only done no wrong thing, but also held a very high rank. Furthermore, Moramme demonstrated a particular fondness for grabbing the neck of his prey, as evidenced numerous times during his interactions with Ellen Anders and John Forge. At one point, he specifically raised and dragged Anders by her neck against orders to take her unharmed. It is possible he would take pleasure in displaying his physical superiority against mankind. Finally, Ripa is known to toy with his opponents, fighting more to make them suffer than to kill them outright. During his battle against Sgt. Forge, he takes his own sweet time, taunting and mocking his enemy multiple times, insulting the rest of humanity in general in the process. Given his strength, he could have easily killed Forge very quickly but elected to torture the human. This arrogance and sadism eventually became his downfall for it allowed Forge the prime opportunity to use his combat blade on Moramee's neck before impaling the Covenant warrior with his own energy sword. Considering Ripa's lack of tradition and honour, it is possible that had he survived this encounter, he may possibly have been involved in The Banished. He would have inspired great awe and fear in those of whom he was in charge. History Category:Halo Villains Category:Aliens Category:Enforcer Category:Military Category:Video Game Villains Category:Kidnapper Category:Brutes Category:Arrogant Category:Fanatics Category:Sadists Category:Social Darwinists Category:Leader Category:Failure-Intolerant Category:Barbarian Category:Warlords Category:Right-Hand Category:Abusers Category:Fighters Category:Wrathful Category:Psychopath Category:Male Category:Minion Category:Homicidal Category:Deceased Category:Pawns Category:Usurper Category:Genocidal Category:Terrorists Category:Strategic Category:Defilers Category:Power Hungry Category:Lawful Evil